Published: Friday, February 8, 2013 at 5:57 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, February 8, 2013 at 5:57 p.m.

Senior wide receiver/safety Kel Williams didn’t get to take part in the ceremonies at Wednesday’s Signing Day at Hendersonville High School, but he will be doing the same thing his fellow signees will be doing in the fall: playing college football.

Williams committed to Bethel, an NAIA school in Kansas, and he signed his official letter-of-intent Friday at Hendersonville.

“Bethel faxed us the papers this morning,” HHS coach B.J. Laughter said Thursday. “We would’ve had Kel sign with the other guys, but we ended up being a day late. That’s OK, though, because he’s going to a great school and he got a great offer.”

Williams, who saw limited action at wide receiver on offense, was a key player for Laughter on special teams, finishing the season with 50 knockdowns.

“I’ve never seen this in my coaching career where someone had that many knockdowns on special teams. He was my special teams Superman,” Laughter said.

Williams also made clutch catches for the Bearcats (12-2) late in the season, especially in the playoffs.

“He maybe had 10 to 12 catches all year, but about half of those came in the playoffs,” Laughter said.

He had first received an offer from Marion College in Indianapolis. The Indians were fresh off winning the NAIA national championship.

“Their defensive coordinator (Marty Mathis) was very high on Kel and wanted him bad,” Laughter said.

But at the end of the season, Mathis was hired as the head coach at Bethel and took most of his defensive staff with him. He had 36 scholarships to give, and he didn’t forget about his favorite recruit from Hendersonville.

“The coach still wanted Kel, and he got him. The coach said they plan to start Kel on special teams right away, so he’s going to have a lot of playing time, even as a freshman,” Laughter said.

Williams is the fourth Bearcat to make a college decision. The other three are D.J. Wilson (Presbyterian), Desean Jackson (Limestone) and Matthew Parce (Brevard).

<p>Senior wide receiver/safety Kel Williams didn't get to take part in the ceremonies at Wednesday's Signing Day at Hendersonville High School, but he will be doing the same thing his fellow signees will be doing in the fall: playing college football.</p><p>Williams committed to Bethel, an NAIA school in Kansas, and he signed his official letter-of-intent Friday at Hendersonville.</p><p>“Bethel faxed us the papers this morning,” HHS coach B.J. Laughter said Thursday. “We would've had Kel sign with the other guys, but we ended up being a day late. That's OK, though, because he's going to a great school and he got a great offer.”</p><p>Williams, who saw limited action at wide receiver on offense, was a key player for Laughter on special teams, finishing the season with 50 knockdowns.</p><p>“I've never seen this in my coaching career where someone had that many knockdowns on special teams. He was my special teams Superman,” Laughter said.</p><p>Williams also made clutch catches for the Bearcats (12-2) late in the season, especially in the playoffs.</p><p>“He maybe had 10 to 12 catches all year, but about half of those came in the playoffs,” Laughter said.</p><p>He had first received an offer from Marion College in Indianapolis. The Indians were fresh off winning the NAIA national championship.</p><p>“Their defensive coordinator (Marty Mathis) was very high on Kel and wanted him bad,” Laughter said.</p><p>But at the end of the season, Mathis was hired as the head coach at Bethel and took most of his defensive staff with him. He had 36 scholarships to give, and he didn't forget about his favorite recruit from Hendersonville.</p><p>“The coach still wanted Kel, and he got him. The coach said they plan to start Kel on special teams right away, so he's going to have a lot of playing time, even as a freshman,” Laughter said.</p><p> Williams is the fourth Bearcat to make a college decision. The other three are D.J. Wilson (Presbyterian), Desean Jackson (Limestone) and Matthew Parce (Brevard).</p>